The Comoros forests ecoregion covers the volcanic islands of the Comoros archipelago in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and East Africa, including Grande Comore (Ngazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani) and Mohéli (Mwali) of the Union of the Comoros along with Mayotte, a region of France. Its natural cover is tropical moist broadleaf forest, ranging from semi-deciduous and evergreen lowland forest up to montane forest near the peaks, with characteristic canopy trees such as Ocotea comorensis, Khaya, Olea capensis and Prunus africana, and giant heath (Erica comorensis) at the highest elevations. The climate is wet and tropical, with a hot rainy season and a cooler drier season; rainfall is highly uneven, exceeding 5,000 mm a year on some uplands while the driest coasts receive around 1,000 mm. The islands hold roughly 1,000 native plant species, about 30 percent of them endemic, and shelter the Livingstone's fruit bat (Pteropus livingstonii) as a flagship species, though little intact forest remains and the ecoregion is rated critically endangered. For gardeners in warm, humid climates, native ornamentals from here include tree ferns (Alsophila) and the endemic palm Ravenea hildebrandtii.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 11.7°S, 43.3°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.7°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
797 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
About the tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome
Warm, wet, highly productive forests — including tropical rainforests — with closed canopies, near year-round growing seasons, and the richest terrestrial biodiversity on Earth. Low seasonality and high rainfall sustain dense, layered vegetation from canopy to forest floor.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: